Pile of t-rails and method of building it



Dec. 25, 1951 w, GRAZlER 2,580,224

FILE OF T RAILS AND METHOD OF BUILDING IT Filed Feb. 25, 1950 Amagah Y tates frequent cleaning th'er'eof. "ducesahaza'rd when'a r'ail has to :be :bentxb'ecause the-paint tends to cause slipp'a'geiof spacer Patented Dec. 25, 1951 "untransenses parent-r orries PiLEOFLItAILS AND METHOFDF "*BUILDINGTT 'Dor :Grazie v gglohnstown, Pa, assignor {to nited States -.-Steel Gompany,- a.corporationof "New-Jersey.

fliipliealtion Fbruary 23, IQSMS'riaFNo; 145,643

"This invention relates to aimetliod'otpiling 'r- I rails for storage an'dithe resulting pile.

-Many users of T-rails-findit desirable or rieces- :sary to maintain a considerablestock:thereof'on hand. The: disposition of any substantial .quantity of rails presents quite. a problem for numerous reasons. themside-by-side, standing "on their flanges, one

Rails are ordinarilyipiled; by laying course-on another, with'nvoo'den spacer strip'srbetween courses. 'I hi'sdunna'ge I is of little :or no "value-:afterone useand represents a substantial itein f c'o'st; The resulting piles lack stability unless great care is*eXe'rcis'ed in their building and hav'ea low space factor which limits the capacity-of a storage bedof a g'iv'en eground'area.

Sometimes alternate rails in eachi 'coursesareinverted to increase the space factor.

'Outdoorun'protected storage of rails is: almost the'universal rule. This resultsin weathering and the probleinis to reduce deterioration as -rnuch as possible. Heretofore, itfhas :been I the practice to spray' asphalt paint an th'ei expo'sed ends and topsof" the rails for 'protectiomagainst the weather. This paint is Objectionable when the rails have'to bem'achined preparatory touse, because-itaccumulates on the tools and necessi- It also i-lin-troblocks used in this operation. A'furtlierfihazard is the -possibility"ofslippage of tongs or slings used in handling rails.

I have invented a no'v'el me'thod of piling rails which overcomes the aforementioned -difiiculties side in successive courses-with thir webs a't about l :to the vertical,eachriil l'eaning ohl the adjacent rail. Therai-ls -in alternate courses are disposed with their heads down and the remaining rails have their heads up with their flanges bearing on those of the downturned rails.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from the following detailed explanation which refers to the accompanying drawing, the single figure of which is an end elevation of a pile of rails built up according to the invention.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the pile of rails there illustrated is disposed transversely on two or more spaced supports or sleepers s which may be rails, timbers or masses of concrete. The sleepers are substantially horizontal but there is ea :slight difference in elevation vbetween .-each sleeper rand --the-adj-acent ones to provide a slope 101; pitchto:the:railspiled thereon for-the purpose 45 In' 'buildingthe;pile shown in the-drawing s, I

.layiia :pluralityoi rails?! 13, I I ,1 l2 and; I3, eta; side- .'--by'-side*in -closeeoreler relation on'the sleepers s .to form aifirst course. The railsotgthe first wo'urse are, laid with their;;heads adisposedadown- "5: rwardly. The first ;-rai1l-fi is actually "laidonits side and :each succeeding rail is laid with the zone edgeof its flange bengaeing the-Web of theirailr previousl-y laid. Th-useach-rail -in ;the :ccurse-except the first hasits: webdisposed at an 1315 ranglecofxaabout &5" to the vertical. The-flange of 1 each rail after; the-se'cond,'--i. e.,;rai1s k2,? lr 3,-;etc.,

, :preferably engages the:web-ofthe-previously?laid ra'il adjacent the; head thereof, 1 7

When the I first-:course ofrails has ,been laid to 20 the desired width 2' there is. limit; to; the w dth fof thepi-le aside from practical considerations) -:.a=.-se'cond -course of: rails 21-, -22, 23, -etc., is laid rthereon. The-zrails -of--@the=-secondcourseare laid "with theirz-heads up andwith their flanges-bear- 25 ring von the up-turnedPfian ges of the railsrofthe 'first'course. Thewebs of the rails-in-the second -course, v furthermore; engage the upper edges. of therfianges of therails inthe first; course. 'As a result, the rails of the first two courses;-ex cept the "-so zfirsttwo rails of the first course; lii andd l)-, are

disposed in pairs-with their -webs iparallel andat "an oblique angle-to the'vertical; their flanges'congruent, it. e., in fiatwise "surtaeeecontact with-the edges thereof substantially flush. Onewof the under surfaces of the head of each rail in the second course engages the exposed upper edge of .theflange-of therailapreviously laid which is 'th'e.'reverse ,ofthe-relation of the flanges and .*heads of the railsin thefirst course.

1 40 When "the second course ofrrails :hassbeenv-laid,

a third course zof'ra-ilsat l -32, -3 3,- etc., is laidwthere- -on I with the 'headseof the rails ;'dOW-1la and abutting the heads of the rails in the second course. The Webs of the rails 3|, 32, 33, etc., as a result,

engage the sides of the heads of the rails 21, 22, 23, etc. The rails of the third course are related to each other in the same manner as the rails of the first course and afford surfaces for receiving the fourth course of rails 41, 42 and 43 in the same manner that the rails of the second course are disposed on those of the first course. That is to say, each pair of courses after the second repeats the pattern established by the first two courses.

A pile of rails built according to my invention mew;

may be laid up to any desired height and any width within practical limits. By reason of the interlocking engagement of the rails of each course and the rails of adjacent courses as explained above, the pile remains rigid and stable regardless of its overall dimensions. The lefthand side of the pile as shown in the drawings is substantially vertical while the right-hand side slopes inwardly since the Width of the courses is decreased by one rail for each pair of courses. To prevent the rails at righthand side of the pile from slipping out of place during the piling operation, a wedge 50 is preferably inserted temporarily in the space between the flanges of the last rail laid in the even-numbered courses and the down-turned head of the last rail laid in the odd-numbered courses, although this is not absolutely necessary.

The interfltting arrangement of inclined pairs of rails in any three adjacent courses results in a space factor much higher than the conventional method of piling. In fact, the-capacity of a pile of given height covering a given area is practically doubled by my invention. This permits dual piling and use rotation of piles when desired. Since the laying of each course automatically provides spaces for receiving the rails of the next course in stable relation thereto, little or no skill is required on the part of the rail-handling crew. No spacer strips are required and dimnage is eliminated except for the wedges 50, if used. The disposition of all rail surfaces at oblique angles causes rain water or condensation to descend promptly into the valleys and the pitch of the several sleepers causes rapid drainage longitudinally of the pile. The top course of rails forms a roof which is practically watertight. This fact together with the arrangement of all rails in an oblique position and the longitudinal pitch makes it unnecessary to spray the tops and ends of the rail with protective paint. The spaces between adjacent courses are sufficient to permit good ventilation, thereby assuring evaporation of condensation or other moisture which may collect therein. The pile of my invention also facilitates taking inventory since each course of rails provides a predetermined number of spaces for rails of the next course.

I claim:

1. In a method of building a pile of T-rails, the steps including laying a first course of rails side-by-side with their heads disposed downwardly and bearing on a support and one edge of the flange of each rail in said course engaging the exposed side of the Web of the adjacent rail, thereby causing the webs of the rails to make an oblique angle with the horizontal, laying a second course of rails on said first course with their webs inclined at said angle to the horizontal and their flanges bearing on those of the rails of the first course, then laying a third course of rails on said second course with their webs inclined at said angle to the horizontal and the tops of their heads disposed downwardly and engaging those of the rails in the second course in partly overlapping relation.

2. In a method of building a pile of T-rails, the steps including laying a rail on its side on a support, laying additional rails on said support with their heads down and one edge of their flanges engaging the exposed side of the web of the previously laid rail to form a first course all the rails of which have their webs inclined to the horizontal, laying a second course of rails with their webs inclined to the horizontal and their flanges bearing on those of th rails of the first course, then laying a third course of rails on said second course with their webs inclined to the horizontal and the tops of their heads disposed downwardly and engaging those of the rails in the second course in partly overlapping relation.

3. 'A pile of T-rails composed of a plurality of courses laid one on the other, each course including a plurality of rails laid side-by-side in close-order relation, the rails of the first course being laid with their webs inclined to the horizontal, their heads down and one edge of the fiange of each rail resting on the exposed side of the web of the adjacent rail, the rails of the second course being disposed with their webs inclined to the horizontal and the bottoms of their fianges congruent with those of the rails of the first course, and the rails of the third course being disposed with their webs inclined to the horizontal and the tops of their heads abutting those of the rails of the second course in partly overlapping relation.

4. A pile of T-rails comprising a plurality of courses each composed of a plurality of rails all disposed in inclined positions and in close-order side-by-side relation, each rail leaning on the adjacent rail in the same course, the rails being disposed with their heads downwardly in one course and upwardly in the adjacent course, the flanges of the rails in any course engaging the webs of the rails in an adjacent course, the heads of the rails in any particular course abutting the heads of the rails in one adjacent course and the flanges of the rails in said particular course abutting the flanges of the rails in the other adjacent course.

DORE W. GRAZIER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 20,702 Edwards June 29, 1858 42,656 Griifin May 10, 1864 43,593 Lewis July 19, 1864 

